Just the two of us

Ellen MacArthur celebrates rounding Cape Horn with a mini bottle of champagne on January 12 2005Britain and France's favourite yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur will break the solo round-the-world record if she can cross a finish line at Ushant off the French coast before 7.04am GMT on Wednesday. Earlier today she was only 217 miles to the finish line in her 75ft trimaran, named B&Q.

The Derbyshire-born sailor is bidding to beat Frenchman Francis Joyon's 72 day, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 second record. The record is for a solo voyage - and indeed MacArthur is alone - but when interviewed via satellite phone the 28-year-old has a habit of perplexing listeners with phrases such as "we hope we can do it".

So who else is onboard? A secret team of Olympic sailors? A morale boosting invisible friend? The spirit of naval explorers past? No, the exhausted sailor explained last week on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she was referring to her and the yacht, explaining that they had a mutually dependent relationship and were "in it together". This may seem a bit batty to you and me but then they have travelled a storm-battered 26,000 miles together.